The Great Question: To Be or Not To Be?
Do the characters in the novel find purpose in living through the hope in a better future?
“No matter - tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther. . . And then one fine morning— So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”
- Nick Carraway, The Great Gatsby
What is existentialism?
Existentialism is a broad topic which has different meanings depending on the philosopher or type of philosophy. It generally addresses the issue of humanity’s purpose and existence. Soren Kierkegaard is considered the first existential philosopher, who influenced many other philosophers on this topic such as Friedrich Nietzsche, Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, and Albert Camus.
Nihilism is a type of existential philosophy that believes that everything has no meaning. Extreme pessimism and skepticism is sometimes connected with nihilists. Although rare, true nihilism believes in nothing, has no purpose or loyalties, and only wishes to destroy. In the 20th century, existential nihilism became a more common, widespread belief. People often viewed the world with a pessimistic attitude; life was meaningless, the world was full of suffering, sadness overcame goodness, happiness could never be achieved, and everything had no purpose. Nihilism ultimately leads to suicide. Some philosophers such as Nietzsche and Camus, advocated against nihilism for the destructive effect it had on a person. However, even these philosophers had difficulty with the topic in their own lives. Albert Camus’s works of that time portray the turmoil he was facing. In his last novel The Fall, Camus makes the statement that everyone is guilty for making the world a terrible place through inaction or self-serving actions. Camus’s essay The Rebel discusses nihilism and how it could lead to the collapse of a society through violence, hatred, destruction, and death. By the late 20th century, nihilism was divided into two categories of nihilists and antifoundationalists. Antifoundationalists accepted the nihilist beliefs as true and had a upbeat response to it.
As Nietzsche wrote in one of his writings on nihilism, “I praise, I do not reproach, [nihilism's] arrival. I believe it is one of the greatest crises, a moment of the deepest self-reflection of humanity. Whether man recovers from it, whether he becomes master of this crisis, is a question of his strength. It is possible. . . .” (Complete Works Vol. 13)
Why do the characters bother living?
Albert Camus was not technically a philosopher and he did not consider himself to be one since he was never given formal training on the topic. He still was very influential in philosophy through his career as a writer, which reflected the philosophical ideas of events during his lifetime. Philosophers such as Kierkegaard, St Augustine, and Nietzsche were some of the people he studied. One of Camus’s most famous philosophical work was on the idea of the absurd. He didn’t just look at the absurd as meaning the confusing and controversial state of life but he uses it to mean the desire of humans to find purpose in an indifferent universe. He believed that as humans, we search for hope and meaning but our cries are ignored because this universe has no purpose. In a way, The Great Gatsby is yet another novel that describes the inconsequential and meaningless existence of humans. Every character has, in a sense, embraced this as a truth of purposelessness.
Camus puts forward three solutions to this type of philosophy: physical suicide, philosophical suicide, and acceptance. Philosophical suicide means using supernatural solutions (ex: faith or mysticism) and removing reasonable explanations, which to Camus, was just as bad as physical suicide. Physical suicide and philosophical suicide is another ethical topic in itself and is presented clearly through George Wilson; other characters have chosen a different route to deal with their existential crises. They have accepted this absurdity in the world and continue to live. To Camus, this is the only valid option. “But sometimes it takes more courage to live than to shoot yourself.” wrote Albert Camus in A Happy Death.
If people were to accept this truth bravely and still live, then life can be all the better. However in the case of The Great Gatsby, people who have accepted this truth live as though every day were the last. With this kind of careless and destructive attitude, it is in some sense worse than suicide because of it consumes more than one life. It wreaks everyone in this frenzy to just live before dying into nothingness. All the major characters display this type of existentialism, to varying degrees. One could even say that Daisy and Tom are the true nihilists of the story who believe in nothing, have no loyalties, and destroy everything for no reason. Albert Camus called this “ the divine irresponsibility of the condemned man.”
Why did George Wilson commit suicide? Is suicide ever morally acceptable?
Suicide has become a rising problem, especially within the past 50 years with a suicide rate of one million per a year. It has become one of the most controversial issues in philosophy and raises many questions about the ethics of suicide. What is considered suicide is also a question that is debated. For example, Hitler’s death at the end of the War is definitely suicide but other famous historical figures such as Jesus or Socrates are less certain.
Most philosophers, including David Hume and Immanuel Kant, would agree that suicide is only morally right if, by living, you are unable to control yourself and will put other lives in danger (ex: a person with rabies). It might have been more moral for Daisy to commit suicide if she had known what would happen to Gatsby, Myrtle, and George. Hume (unpopular due to being an atheist) also states that if one becomes a hardship on society, not longer benefiting it, then suicide is also a viable option. Suicide can also be considered if living conditions are unbearable. Kant (a Christian philosopher), on the other hand, disagreed on this. Whether suicide is moral depends on the situation usually.
As Camus mentioned, physical suicide is one of three options to existentialism as a way to escape the meaninglessness of life. To quote Albert Camus from The Myth of Sisyphus, "There is but one truly serious philosophical problem and that is suicide." Suicide stems from a myriad of reasons and several unknowns variables are always at work which can never be known. It can boil down to the feeling that life is too much to handle or too hard to understand. George was already dead before the novel began, dead from philosophical suicide. The novel makes a point of shedding light on George’s belief in a god watching over him, which gives him hope that there is something better for him. Yet, judging by the description of his ashen and ghostly figure, this is what first kills him. When the illusion is shattered through the death of his wife, he once again faces the hollowness of living, feeling his god had left him. For a short time, he recovered from his philosophical suicide and for a brief period of time in the novel, he was more alive than he any other point, until the moment he committed physical suicide. He became another example of the destructiveness of existentialist beliefs during the 20th century.
- Nick Carraway, The Great Gatsby
What is existentialism?
Existentialism is a broad topic which has different meanings depending on the philosopher or type of philosophy. It generally addresses the issue of humanity’s purpose and existence. Soren Kierkegaard is considered the first existential philosopher, who influenced many other philosophers on this topic such as Friedrich Nietzsche, Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, and Albert Camus.
Nihilism is a type of existential philosophy that believes that everything has no meaning. Extreme pessimism and skepticism is sometimes connected with nihilists. Although rare, true nihilism believes in nothing, has no purpose or loyalties, and only wishes to destroy. In the 20th century, existential nihilism became a more common, widespread belief. People often viewed the world with a pessimistic attitude; life was meaningless, the world was full of suffering, sadness overcame goodness, happiness could never be achieved, and everything had no purpose. Nihilism ultimately leads to suicide. Some philosophers such as Nietzsche and Camus, advocated against nihilism for the destructive effect it had on a person. However, even these philosophers had difficulty with the topic in their own lives. Albert Camus’s works of that time portray the turmoil he was facing. In his last novel The Fall, Camus makes the statement that everyone is guilty for making the world a terrible place through inaction or self-serving actions. Camus’s essay The Rebel discusses nihilism and how it could lead to the collapse of a society through violence, hatred, destruction, and death. By the late 20th century, nihilism was divided into two categories of nihilists and antifoundationalists. Antifoundationalists accepted the nihilist beliefs as true and had a upbeat response to it.
As Nietzsche wrote in one of his writings on nihilism, “I praise, I do not reproach, [nihilism's] arrival. I believe it is one of the greatest crises, a moment of the deepest self-reflection of humanity. Whether man recovers from it, whether he becomes master of this crisis, is a question of his strength. It is possible. . . .” (Complete Works Vol. 13)
Why do the characters bother living?
Albert Camus was not technically a philosopher and he did not consider himself to be one since he was never given formal training on the topic. He still was very influential in philosophy through his career as a writer, which reflected the philosophical ideas of events during his lifetime. Philosophers such as Kierkegaard, St Augustine, and Nietzsche were some of the people he studied. One of Camus’s most famous philosophical work was on the idea of the absurd. He didn’t just look at the absurd as meaning the confusing and controversial state of life but he uses it to mean the desire of humans to find purpose in an indifferent universe. He believed that as humans, we search for hope and meaning but our cries are ignored because this universe has no purpose. In a way, The Great Gatsby is yet another novel that describes the inconsequential and meaningless existence of humans. Every character has, in a sense, embraced this as a truth of purposelessness.
Camus puts forward three solutions to this type of philosophy: physical suicide, philosophical suicide, and acceptance. Philosophical suicide means using supernatural solutions (ex: faith or mysticism) and removing reasonable explanations, which to Camus, was just as bad as physical suicide. Physical suicide and philosophical suicide is another ethical topic in itself and is presented clearly through George Wilson; other characters have chosen a different route to deal with their existential crises. They have accepted this absurdity in the world and continue to live. To Camus, this is the only valid option. “But sometimes it takes more courage to live than to shoot yourself.” wrote Albert Camus in A Happy Death.
If people were to accept this truth bravely and still live, then life can be all the better. However in the case of The Great Gatsby, people who have accepted this truth live as though every day were the last. With this kind of careless and destructive attitude, it is in some sense worse than suicide because of it consumes more than one life. It wreaks everyone in this frenzy to just live before dying into nothingness. All the major characters display this type of existentialism, to varying degrees. One could even say that Daisy and Tom are the true nihilists of the story who believe in nothing, have no loyalties, and destroy everything for no reason. Albert Camus called this “ the divine irresponsibility of the condemned man.”
Why did George Wilson commit suicide? Is suicide ever morally acceptable?
Suicide has become a rising problem, especially within the past 50 years with a suicide rate of one million per a year. It has become one of the most controversial issues in philosophy and raises many questions about the ethics of suicide. What is considered suicide is also a question that is debated. For example, Hitler’s death at the end of the War is definitely suicide but other famous historical figures such as Jesus or Socrates are less certain.
Most philosophers, including David Hume and Immanuel Kant, would agree that suicide is only morally right if, by living, you are unable to control yourself and will put other lives in danger (ex: a person with rabies). It might have been more moral for Daisy to commit suicide if she had known what would happen to Gatsby, Myrtle, and George. Hume (unpopular due to being an atheist) also states that if one becomes a hardship on society, not longer benefiting it, then suicide is also a viable option. Suicide can also be considered if living conditions are unbearable. Kant (a Christian philosopher), on the other hand, disagreed on this. Whether suicide is moral depends on the situation usually.
As Camus mentioned, physical suicide is one of three options to existentialism as a way to escape the meaninglessness of life. To quote Albert Camus from The Myth of Sisyphus, "There is but one truly serious philosophical problem and that is suicide." Suicide stems from a myriad of reasons and several unknowns variables are always at work which can never be known. It can boil down to the feeling that life is too much to handle or too hard to understand. George was already dead before the novel began, dead from philosophical suicide. The novel makes a point of shedding light on George’s belief in a god watching over him, which gives him hope that there is something better for him. Yet, judging by the description of his ashen and ghostly figure, this is what first kills him. When the illusion is shattered through the death of his wife, he once again faces the hollowness of living, feeling his god had left him. For a short time, he recovered from his philosophical suicide and for a brief period of time in the novel, he was more alive than he any other point, until the moment he committed physical suicide. He became another example of the destructiveness of existentialist beliefs during the 20th century.